Bangla in Bangladesh

-Muhammad Nazmul Huda Azad

Language movement took place to establish Bangla as state language of the then EastPakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1952. The movement played a vital role in achieving independence in 1971. Because of the blood of language movement martyrs 21st February is declared as the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO in November 1999. Moreover, the language is in number six position among worlds top twenty languages (The Current Top Twenty by Ostler. N).

The nation has got international recognition for their dedication to their mother tongue but still a silent language movement remains. People are divided into classes. Many upper class people want their children to study in English medium schools and they think the students of Bangla medium schools are not so called smart or brilliant. English is the only medium in mushroom growing English medium schools and private universities where the students are not using Bangla, thus the generation is losing their skills in Bangla. The superiority rearing its head by way of English medium education has done limitless harm to the country. The ethics, which are part of Bengali culture, have in a municipal clime been replaced by a society of discourtesy. It is all a wonder of how capitalism has made inroads into the nations education. There are fifty four private universities in Bangladesh and most of them are guided, in line with the principles of capitalist philosophy, by the profit purpose where Bangla language has got no place. Moreover, the politicians and high officials are dedicating themselves to the so called globalisation where heritage and sacrifice are neglected.

Because of the strong influence of English there is another form of mixed languages which is informally known as Banglish (Bangla+English=Banglish), linguistically it can be described as codemixing and code-switching. The followings can be considered as the reasons for the

influence: because of the present situation mentioned in the above paragraph, on top of that, British Colonial rule ended in the then India but their language remained to rule the linguistic domain in East Asia.

After the language movement in 1952 the official activities used to be done in English in order to avoid language clashes between the two parts (East Pakistan and West Pakistan) of the country. Sk. Mujibur Rahman says- we do not believe in such trends that when the scholars will make a rule to be used Bangla in official activities, rather we will make it the only official language soon after we get the independence. President Hossain Muhammad Ershad in 1987 introduced Bangla Introduction Act (Bangla Procholon Aeen) but English remained strong in the language behaviour of Bangladeshi people.

It is a good side that the nation likes to be honoured for their sacrifice. At the same time it is a matter of sorrow that the people suddenly feel love for the language when 21st February arrives, however, as the date goes by, the nation forgets the value of the language. Politicians should come forward as there will be no future for Bangla unless the political parties incorporate the idea in their electoral manifestoes. Ignoring Bangla language we should not make the place clear for any foreign language to be established.

Politicians and high officials are seen to observe 21st February in the light of internationalism and globalisation of English language. The new generation is more curious about 14th February (Valentines Day) than 21st February. If they continue doing so it will be like exiling own son to welcome guests. Of course we cannot ignore English which is considered as global lingua franca, we should use it as lingua franca only. If the nation still considers English more important than Bangla they should not feel proud of the movement. If a nation cannot be in real love with their own language they should not be obsessed with that language.